Greta Giarola is a PhD student at DTU Energy, Technical University of Denmark, working on the development of OER catalysts with low or no iridium content. During her stay with our group, she aims to investigate the stability of 3d-metal mixed spinel oxides using high-throughput SFC-ICP-MS measurements.
Oktay is joining the Cherevko group at HI-ERN for a three-month research stay from Aalto University. During his stay, he will investigate the dissolution behavior of Pd-based and TiOx-coated Pd electrocatalysts using SFC-ICP-MS. This work will complement his doctoral research on electrocatalyst durability for AEM electrolysers.
Iryna Zenyuk is a visiting Humboldt Bessel fellow from the University of California Irvine. She is a professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering there, and her research focuses on low-temperature technologies, including fuel cells, electrolyzers, and hydrogen pumps.
During her stay in the Cherevko group, she will study the dissolution and degradation of iridium in a proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer.
Daniel was awarded a "Best Poster Award" in the 42nd ISE Topical Meeting in Helsinki, Finland in June.
His research titled "Transient Dissolution Assisted Recovery of Iridium" explored the concept of hindering the redeposition of iridium by the presence of foreign metal ions and small organic molecules, and how this interaction can be exploited for a 1000x accelerated dissolution, and how the electrode surface passivation can be avoided.
The research behind the poster is currently being prepared for publication. Congratulations to Daniel on this well-deserved recognition!
Matej Zlatar has completed his PhD in the group of Dr. Serhiy Cherevko and is staying on at HIERN as a postdoctoral researcher. He now shifts focus from the fundamentals of electrocatalyst dissolution to more applied investigations of catalyst degradation under realistic operating conditions.
Welcome Matej!
Angus is a postdoctoral fellow from Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), where he is currently investigating CO2 reduction to CO on Ni-N-C-based electrocatalysts, focusing on resolving the structure and degradation of the active site using a combination of in situ XAS and online ICP-MS. Angus is conducting a one-month stay in the Cherevko group during August 2026.
Welcome, Angus!
Dimitrios Karatzas is a doctoral researcher from Greece. He got his MSc in Science and Technology of Electrochemical Systems, focusing on the nonlinear behavior of corroding Fe electrodes in acidic electrolytes. After that, he pursued a Postgraduate Researcher position at the University of Leeds, where he investigated the interplay between thermal degradation and electrochemical corrosion on the structural resilience of alloys in molten-salt environments for nuclear applications. Starting in the Cherevko group in June 2026, he will investigate the mechanisms of electrochemical degradation of Pt and other noble metal catalysts for PEMFC applications. The project primarily involves investigating the different degradation mechanisms under operational conditions on single-crystal Pt surfaces using SFC-ICP-MS and HESXRD.
After obtaining his Master's degree in Switzerland, Alexandre Nozadze returned to our group as a PhD student. His work will focus on bridging the gap between electrocatalyst dissolution behavior in aqueous model systems and in membrane electrode assemblies, using high-throughput and machine-learning methods.
Welcome back, Alexandre!
Ante Matošin will investigate the stability of Pt-Co alloy nanoparticles for proton exchange membrane fuel cell applications and the effects of metal-support interactions on their dissolution.
"I firmly believe that this visit will help me gather new insights concerning the stability of my samples at potentials relevant for practical application. I also think this visit will be very beneficial for my further development as a researcher, by deepening my knowledge of electrochemistry and by making new acquaintances in this field. I look forward to working with everyone at the EEC group, and I am very grateful for this opportunity." - Ante
Welcome, Ante!
Anna Giulia Cardone is a PhD student in Materials Science and Technology at the Politecnico di Torino (Italy), working on electrocatalysts for green hydrogen production, with particular focus on reducing the use of critical raw materials. During her stay with our group, she aims to broaden her expertise in operando electrochemical characterization and dissolution studies using SFC-ICP-MS techniques and to investigate the stability of electrocatalysts with low noble-metal loading.
Welcome, Anna!